Improvement in grain-threshers



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Be it known that I, A. WHITTEMORE, of Willimantic, in the county ofWindham, andState of Connecticut, have invented a new and improvedGraiu-Threshcr; and do hereby declare that the following Visafull,clear, and

exact description thereof, which will'enable those skilled in the arttomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings forming part of .this specification.

This invention relates to anew and improved method of constructingmachinery for the threshing of grain by hand or other power, whereby thesame is more eiiectually done without unbinding the bundles, andwhereby, also, the straw is leftin better condition. V i

It consists of a box-frame, through which are longitudinal parallelwires, on which the grain is received when threshed. It consists, also,of'arms, attached to an axle rotating in suitable bearings on `saidframe, betweeneachpuir of' which said arms, and to the end 'of thesan1e,'ar'e pivoted by one and any convenientnumber of ilails, motionbeing given to said axle by the hand or power working upon the samethrough a belt or belts, whereby the bundles of grain are .threshed, thegraiubeing separated from the straw, and, falling 'upon said wires, isdeposited in some convenient receptacle therefor beneath the same. Intheaccompan'yingplate of drawingsi i n l Figure -1 is a central verticalsectional view of 4my invention, taken in the line c: zu, iig. 2.

lFigure 2 is a plan view of the same. i

A is the box'or frame; a are wires throughI the same; d are screws, towhich the. wires a are attached.

B isanaxle or shaft; o lare boxes or'bearings, onframe A, in which theaxleBrrQtates; e are the arms on axle B; e are llails pivoted to thesaine. C is a pulley on axle B. D is a wheel 'on frame A; dis a, belt ;Vd is a crank in wheel D The bundles of-grain are shown in the` drawinglin red. The frame A is made ofwo'od, in Ithe form of a rectangular box,'composed of twoends and two sides, secured together in the ordinaryway, supported by suitable. feet. The framefAisof such length and widthas to receive the `cfuantity of grain to be at one time threshed, and to-allow the ails e?, attached to the endof the arms e, -to revolvexaboutthe ce'utreof the axle Bwithin thesame. Through holes`in the end ofthesaid frame nearly equidistant fronznthe top"4 andthe bottom of same, andpassing-longitudinally through from one end ofthe frame A to the other,in lines parallel with the sides of the frame A, are 'the wires a, asshown, so as to form a convenient receptacle for theheads ofv grainwhich have been beatenoif or pulled'out by the Vlails e', and so as thatthe grain, after being threshed out by said lails e', may fall throughthe same. Said wires a are of any convenient number, as eight, and are`secured'on the outside of the frame A, on the ends ofthe same, to thescrews' a set to receive said wires a,`as'shown, and so also that-byturning said screws a in one direction, said wires a maybe tightened atpleasure. Upon the frame A, and extending across the centre ofthe samefrom one side thereof'to the othei,and supported by and rotating insuitable boxes d, is an iron axle or shaft, B. i Said shaft B isofsuicieut size for strength, and extends beyond the frame A on one side,so as to receive a fixed pulley, G, as shown in thedrawing, by means ofwhich said pulley G the said shaft B'isrotated, as is hereinafter morefully set forth. Upon the axle V13, within the frame A, and'rigidl-ysecured thereto,. inthe' centre of said arms e, at equal distancesapart, Hare any convenient number of radial arms, e, as ten. Said arms eare made of hard wood, and may be of any convenient length, but I havefound by experience the Vlength-oi" twenty-three inches, or thereabouts,to be the proper length, and are of suicicnt thickness for strength tosupport the {lails c while beating the gralm Said arms e are so securedto the axle B astobe in the same straight line, yand have pivotedbetween each two ofthe-1 same,l and on the ends thereof,'by one end, theflails e', and in such a way, one end of said iiails being left free,that when' the axle B is rapidly rotated the flails eiwill be carriedabout the saine by the arms e, so as to strike upon or beatthe grainplaced across theedge of the-frame A, much in the manner of a singletlail whenl operated by the'hand. To one end of the frameAon the outsidethereof,4 and on the same 'sideas the pulley C, andso ,as to rotate upona pivot secured to said frame, is a driving-wheel, D. Said driving-wheelD may be made'of wood or otherlsuitable material,'and` is provided withahandle, cl', secured 'in the same so as to form a crank, by means ofwhich the wheel D is made-to rotate by the hand. Said wheel D beingIconnected with the pulley lC by a belt, d, a connection may be made withgearing inthe ordinary wayof communicating motion from one horih zontalshaft tovanother. Said wheel Dy and puileyC are to each, .with respectto their several diameters, in the ratio to give the necessary speed tothe shaft B and arms e attached to the same.

The operation is such that the bundles of grain to`be threshed, Withoutbeing in'tied, are laid across one' side of the frame A; at right anglesto the Wires a,the'iiails set in motion by the turning of the wheel D,the grain is beaten from the same, and when all the grain has thus beenbea-ten or threshed from the same that can be in that Way, said bundles.are placed again upon said frame A, across the end ofthe same, in alineparallel with the wires a, and the operation repeated, when the iiailse', passing between the stalks of the grain, thoroughly and completelyseparate the kernels from'the straw, leaving said stuw inunbrokenbundles, the kernels of grain" vpassing through, .between the wires a,into some convenient receptacle of the same.

Constructed as above described, it constitutes a cheap and durablethreshing-machine, to'be operated by l hand or' other power, theadvantages of which are, that' grain is-more rapidlyzand economicallythreshed from the straw, 1Without'unbinding the bundles thereof, that ifone of the iails strikes against any resisting foreign matter in thebundles, said flail folds back upon the arms, and does not pre-vent thefull operation of the other'` dails upon the grain, and that the bundleso f straw are left unbroken.

il4 claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. Thelongitudinal Wires u, forming the bottom of a frameoi athreshing-machine, when said wires are `attached. at each` end to screwsa", wherebythe tension of the wires maj,r be regulated, substantially asdescribed.

2. In combination with the above, I claim the shaftB, bearing arms e andpivoted iuils c, the pulley C, belt CZ, .and drive-wheels D d, allconstructed, arranged,V and operating as set forth. Y 4

3. I claim thethreshing-machine, constructed as described, andconsisting of a frame, A, having wire bottom a', screws'a, shaftB,`\'arms e, lails e',fpulley C, drier/:wheels IDl d', and' belt d, allarranged and operating as described.

, A'. S. WHITTE'MORE.

Witnesses:

'J'. R. ARNOLD, A. PEARL.

